CBP will on Sept. 17 deploy new ACE functionality to “allow for drawback of Petroleum Superfund taxes,” it said in a July 1 update to its ACE Development and Deployment Schedule. CBP last year said it was unable to process accelerated payment requests for drawback on the superfund taxes, which took effect in 2022 (see 2304210071. The agency also pushed back from June to July the date that it will add broker account access to partner government agency documents via the modernized ACE portal.
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The U.S. on July 1 urged the Court of International Trade to dismiss customs broker Seko Customs Brokerage's suit contesting CBP's suspension of the company from participation in the Entry Type 86 pilot and Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism program. The government said Seko's claims aren't ripe for judicial review, are moot and are premature (Seko Customs Brokerage v. U.S., CIT # 24-00097).
Witnesses at the annual African Growth and Opportunity Act eligibility review hearing contradicted an earlier comment from the Ethiopian government, which argued that Tigray has been relatively peaceful since November 2022, and basic services such as electricity, water, phone service, education and healthcare have been restored in the region. "Following widespread and substantial reforms of the food assistance structure, which allowed for enhanced oversight and beneficiary selection, USAID resumed food assistance across Ethiopia," Ethiopian representatives wrote.
Sandler Travis & Rosenberg, the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America's Educational Institute, Global Trade Professionals Alliance/E-Merchants Trade Council, International Compliance Professionals Association and TrüTrade Solutions have been chosen by CBP to provide continuing education hours for customs brokers renewing their licenses.
CBP Executive Director for Trade Policy and Programs Brandon Lord told an audience during a Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee meeting that its work groups had offered "very thoughtful, forward-leaning recommendations," and that he was particularly excited about their new vision of a customs brokers exam.
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee Broker Modernization Working Group has reached consensus and is recommending, among other things, that the Customs Broker License Exam be offered at least quarterly; that the exam should not vary in its difficulty: and that CBP consider whether it's possible to offer the exam, which has a remote-test-taking option, on demand.
Almost 20 trade groups and a handful of companies disagreed on how to ensure supply chain resilience -- many arguing that liberalizing trade with allies is crucial to reduce the likelihood of shortages, or weaponization, but others asserted that friendshoring will undermine domestic production already under stress.
A "back to basics" webinar on de minimis presented by CBP, which was watched by more than 1,900 in the trade community, didn't elaborate on the suspensions of customs brokers from Type 86, though CBP official Felicia Pullam said the agency has heard "a lot of concern in the trade community about this enforcement."